All seem not well with UT Bank Ghana Limited as its Chief Executive, Prince Kofi Amoabeng, has confirmed to the media that the indigenous universal bank has posted a loss of GH¢30.6million in the first half of this year.
This development, The aL-hAJJ has gathered, is generating some disquiet among shareholders of the bank, with some of its major shareholders threatening to pull out if managers of the bank do not take immediate steps to halt its declining fortunes.
Ominously, there are also reports that the not-too-good fortunes of the bank is beginning to dampened the spirit of some of its customers, some of whom are alleged to be considering ending their dalliance with the hitherto thriving bank.
The Bank’s half-year loss of over GH¢30 million for 2015, has prompted reports in sections of the media that could result in a take-over of the bank.
But CEO of UT bank, Prince Kofi Amoabeng, who is also President of UT Holdings, has downplayed such speculations, insisting, it is untrue the bank was on offer. “There is no intention to hand over UT Bank to anybody at all…I think what we have on the table now is getting aggressive…and [restoring] confidence in the shareholders”, he said.
He said concrete plans have been put in place to forestall further revenue loss.
“We’re achieving for the first two months, better than projected. So that is something that gives a lot of confidence and we have the staff on board. We’ve gone to look for their views and we’ve implemented [their] suggestions. It is not just me or top management saying ‘this is going to work’. This [plan] is what all of UT says is going to work”, he underscored.
Speaking at a press conference on the bank’s recent dwindling fortunes, Kofi Amoabeng noted, “our turnaround plan is two tiered, with a broader plan of business transformation aimed at better positioning UT bank to withstand external shocks, and a more narrow plan which addresses, directly the internal challenges we have identified as a business.”
The bank, the UT Bank CEO maintained, was, therefore, focusing on issues such as loan recovery; risk management, effective cost management, and capital raising to enable it to recover fully from the losses. “I must reiterate that UT bank remains committed to supporting the SMEs by helping them to address the risks that they face”, he said.
The year 2014 was very challenging for the bank as tough macro-economic conditions and the protracted energy crisis continue to negatively affect the operations and performance of the business sector, especially its core segment, Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs).
“The first three months were particularly challenging with the bank recording a GH¢28 million loss during that period. We have witnessed a vast improvement, as the results of the implementation of our turnaround plan kicked in. In the second quarter, from April to June, we recorded a GH¢2.4 million loss, 91 per cent better than recorded in the first quarter, and in the month of June recorded a GH¢1.3 million profit after tax,” he said.
Total deposits, he said, increased by 29 per cent from GH¢889 million to GH¢1.2 billion while total assets increased by 44 per cent from GH¢1.4 billion to GH¢2 billion.
Mr Amoabeng said the bank was able to reduce its losses in the second quarter of 2015 by GH¢26 million which was a sign that it was on its way to profitability
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